Nintendo’s latest Direct focused on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate introduced a heap of new information about the upcoming brawler, including two brand-new fighters, three more echo fighters, music features, stage customization options, and much more.

The first newbie to the roster will be Castlevania‘s Simon Belmont, the vampire hunter featured in the first game in the long-running series. In the opening portion of the Direct, which you can check out below, Simon bursts onto the scene to defeat Death and save a ghost-hunting Luigi. He’ll come to battle equipped with several iconic weapons, including the axe, cross, and holy water. Plus, his Final Smash attack, Grand Cross, will throw enemies into a coffin that he sends flying into the void.

Along with his arrival will be even more Castlevania content. Richter Belmont, star of Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, will be an echo fighter for Simon. He’ll use attacks similar to his ancestor but with his own animations. Symphony of the Night lead and Dracula’s son Alucard will also appear as an assist trophy. To cap off the Castlevania fun, Dracula’s Castle will be a stage, and according to director Masahiro Sakurai, it will be the darkest one in Ultimate.

The other new fighter, King K. Rool, was teased at the end of the presentation. It appears he’ll be a heavy character with attacks that nod to several different iterations of the baddie across the Donkey Kong Country games. Nintendo also unveiled two additional echo fighters, Fire Emblem: Awakening‘s Chrom for Roy and Dark Samus for standard Samus.

The new fighters were just a small part of the information overload, though. There will be over 100 new and returning stages to pick from, and all will be available from the start of the game. Pokémon Stadium, Garden of Hope, and Brinstar Depths were a few of the returning areas that were shown, along with the brand-new New Donk City area. Many stages from the original Super Smash Bros. will also return and will keep their Nintendo 64 graphics for nostalgia. In a series first, players will also have the option to transform stages mid-battle, meaning a group could start out at Final Destination but then end up on Summit.

For the music fans, due to the many different franchises and histories represented in Ultimate, Nintendo has revealed there will be over 800 tracks available. Players will have the ability to listen to them on the go with their Switch and even make playlists of their favorite songs. Alongside the tracks from previous Super Smash Bros. titles, a few more new additions were played. For example, there will be 34 Castlevania tracks and a remixed version of Mega Man X‘s opening stage theme.

It wouldn’t be a new entry in the brawler series without new assist trophies and Pokémon, and Ultimate will offer a good amount of additions. Some of the new assist trophies include Mega Man X’s Zero, Monster Hunter’s Rathalos, Shovel Knight, and even the moon from The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. On the Pokémon side, players will be able to call Mimikyu, Ditto, Alolan Vulpix, and more into battle.

Players will have new battle modes and customization options at the ready, too. Specific rules can be saved and chosen before a match, and the stage selection screen will appear before players pick their fighters. Stamina mode, which gives players a set amount of hit points, will also be a permanent mode. Final Smashes will return—but with a new functionality. Players will be able to toggle on a Final Smash meter in the match rules that allows each player to unleash a weaker version of their Final Smashes after a meter is filled. Squad Strike and Tourney mode will let friends create tournament-style battles, while Training will let players study the damage output of each fighter. And last but not least, the single-player Classic mode will give players a chance to fight through predetermined stages for glory.

Sakurai also teased a mysterious feature for Ultimate will be accessible from the main menu, but more information on it will come soon. Overall, this Nintendo Direct did not disappoint, and there will likely be more surprises announced before the game launches later this year.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will launch for Nintendo Switch on December 7th.

About Evan Slead

Evan has been loving games since he could hold a controller. When not replaying Megaman X or Castlevania: Symphony of the Night for the 100th time, he also has been writing about entertainment, from horror movie reviews for Bloody Good Horror to TV recaps and general news for Entertainment Weekly, and now all things gaming. Say hello on Twitter at @EvanSlead.

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Massive Smash Bros. Ultimate reveal has new fighters, stages, and more

Tons of new Super Smash Bros. Ultimate info confirms rumored Castelvania crossover and a surprising addition to the roster.

Nintendo’s latest Direct focused on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate introduced a heap of new information about the upcoming brawler, including two brand-new fighters, three more echo fighters, music features, stage customization options, and much more.

The first newbie to the roster will be Castlevania‘s Simon Belmont, the vampire hunter featured in the first game in the long-running series. In the opening portion of the Direct, which you can check out below, Simon bursts onto the scene to defeat Death and save a ghost-hunting Luigi. He’ll come to battle equipped with several iconic weapons, including the axe, cross, and holy water. Plus, his Final Smash attack, Grand Cross, will throw enemies into a coffin that he sends flying into the void.

Along with his arrival will be even more Castlevania content. Richter Belmont, star of Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, will be an echo fighter for Simon. He’ll use attacks similar to his ancestor but with his own animations. Symphony of the Night lead and Dracula’s son Alucard will also appear as an assist trophy. To cap off the Castlevania fun, Dracula’s Castle will be a stage, and according to director Masahiro Sakurai, it will be the darkest one in Ultimate.

The other new fighter, King K. Rool, was teased at the end of the presentation. It appears he’ll be a heavy character with attacks that nod to several different iterations of the baddie across the Donkey Kong Country games. Nintendo also unveiled two additional echo fighters, Fire Emblem: Awakening‘s Chrom for Roy and Dark Samus for standard Samus.

The new fighters were just a small part of the information overload, though. There will be over 100 new and returning stages to pick from, and all will be available from the start of the game. Pokémon Stadium, Garden of Hope, and Brinstar Depths were a few of the returning areas that were shown, along with the brand-new New Donk City area. Many stages from the original Super Smash Bros. will also return and will keep their Nintendo 64 graphics for nostalgia. In a series first, players will also have the option to transform stages mid-battle, meaning a group could start out at Final Destination but then end up on Summit.

For the music fans, due to the many different franchises and histories represented in Ultimate, Nintendo has revealed there will be over 800 tracks available. Players will have the ability to listen to them on the go with their Switch and even make playlists of their favorite songs. Alongside the tracks from previous Super Smash Bros. titles, a few more new additions were played. For example, there will be 34 Castlevania tracks and a remixed version of Mega Man X‘s opening stage theme.

It wouldn’t be a new entry in the brawler series without new assist trophies and Pokémon, and Ultimate will offer a good amount of additions. Some of the new assist trophies include Mega Man X’s Zero, Monster Hunter’s Rathalos, Shovel Knight, and even the moon from The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. On the Pokémon side, players will be able to call Mimikyu, Ditto, Alolan Vulpix, and more into battle.

Players will have new battle modes and customization options at the ready, too. Specific rules can be saved and chosen before a match, and the stage selection screen will appear before players pick their fighters. Stamina mode, which gives players a set amount of hit points, will also be a permanent mode. Final Smashes will return—but with a new functionality. Players will be able to toggle on a Final Smash meter in the match rules that allows each player to unleash a weaker version of their Final Smashes after a meter is filled. Squad Strike and Tourney mode will let friends create tournament-style battles, while Training will let players study the damage output of each fighter. And last but not least, the single-player Classic mode will give players a chance to fight through predetermined stages for glory.

Sakurai also teased a mysterious feature for Ultimate will be accessible from the main menu, but more information on it will come soon. Overall, this Nintendo Direct did not disappoint, and there will likely be more surprises announced before the game launches later this year.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will launch for Nintendo Switch on December 7th.

About Evan Slead

Evan has been loving games since he could hold a controller. When not replaying Megaman X or Castlevania: Symphony of the Night for the 100th time, he also has been writing about entertainment, from horror movie reviews for Bloody Good Horror to TV recaps and general news for Entertainment Weekly, and now all things gaming. Say hello on Twitter at @EvanSlead.